Winter Feeding and Management

1 . The continuation of covert-feeding reared and wild pheasants into the cold months. (Some of this has been dealt with in an earlier chapter.)

2. The provision of food for partridges and hedgerow pheasants, in hoppers and by hand, from October to March.

The first question that is usually asked about winter feeding is simple and straightforward: why is it necessary at all?

It must be remembered that farms today are certainly not as cosy as they were when Constable painted his landscapes. The kale and root acreage has decreased. There are fewer hedgerow berries, corn ricks, manure heaps, insect-ridden log piles and untidy corners. In the woods more conifers are planted, and as a result there is a decrease in the number of hardwoods with their welcome harvest of autumn seeds and fruits.

Modern farms can be hungry places for game and wildlife in winter. During the summer, weed-killers and insecticides may already have reduced the natural food supply, and by the time any stubbles are burned and ploughed in the landscape is frequently a bleak one for pheasants and partridges. The higher the stocks of game, the less food there will be to go round-not forgetting there will be more rooks and wood pigeons sharing the rations.

It is true that the ancestors of some of our European game pheasants were found in countries like Mongolia and Korea, where the winters are severe. Our native partridges are also very hardy and capable of facing European winter conditions, but if we expect them to survive in sufficient numbers to provide us with a shooting surplus we must actively help them in two ways:

1. Plan the farm crops so that they will encourage an even distribution of game birds on the land.

2. Supplement this planning by feeding grain and other foods by hand or in hoppers.

Farm crop planning

The distribution of crops in the recommended patchwork pattern really comes into its own in the winter. Large areas of bare plough should be avoided where possible.

Crops for game during the period of winter management can be divided into two types:

The special game crop that is sown mainly for the birds and may not be of much use to the farm. It is perhaps something of a luxury. Sunflowers and buckwheat are typical examples. Dual purpose crops, such as kale, mustard and clover, sown in the normal farm rotation, that can be sited to be of use to game birds as well. These crops fall into two sub-divisions:

(a) Holding crops, providing cover in the right place during the shooting season.

(b) Food and cover crops, sown primarily to give shelter, escape cover and food, although they can also be used for driving birds or holding pheasants.

They are particularly important during the late winter and early spring. Obviously the siting of all these crops must be planned several months in advance when drawing up the whole programme for the farm.

The farmer who shoots over his own land is at a great advantage. A little extra trouble may be necessary in planning the rotation and layout of crops, but there need rarely be any extra expense.

The man who rents his shooting over a farm and does not control the cropping pattern may think there is little he can do to improve the habitat. It is quite possible, however, that the farmer may be willing to make one or two small changes in his normal planning in order to help the shoot. He might, for example, sow mustard or a similar green manure crop after the harvest, if the seed is supplied by the shooting tenant; or perhaps split up a large block of kale into smaller units, some distance apart. It is often worth paying a charge per acre to have crops sown in the right places.

Finally a great deal depends on whether the farmer is invited to shoot! One important use of both dual-purpose and special game crops is to provide escape cover in the late winter and early spring. The dead, tangled stems of such annuals as sunflower and maize give invaluable shelter. A few undersown leys and the verges of farm roads would provide early spring feed and the undersowing of some cover in the stubbles to hold the stock.

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